Grab the First Cup

Not-so-great coffee gets downright nasty after it's been sitting for a while. Appoint yourself head coffee maker and always grab the first cup, fresh from the pot.

Bring a Carafe from Home

Brew up a pot the way you like it using your own home equipment and bring it to the office with you in a thermal carafe or vacuum jug. The best of them will keep your coffee hot and tasting fresh for a few hours so you don't have to drink the office coffee.

Make Your Coffee at Your Desk

Put together a coffee survival kit (or check out one of our coffee making bundles). Dpending on how finicky you are, you might include an electric kettle to ensure your water is in the right temperature zone, a manual coffee grinder and your choice of manual coffee maker. These are our top five choices for making excellent coffee at work.

You can grind your coffee at home each morning and transport it in an airtight container, or you can invest in a manual grinder for the office. The Hario Mini Mill Slim Coffee Grinder breaks down easily to fit into a briefcase or purse, but hs what it takes to deliver a range of grinds suited to your favorite coffeemaking method. We're also big fans of the Hario Ceramic Coffee Grinder, which breaks down to the size of a small paperback and looks professional and stylish sitting on your desk.

We like the Hario V60 Metal Coffee Dripper for a few reasons. It has a relatively easy learning curve. It doesn't take up a lot of space. Best of all, it's unbreakable, so you don't have to worry about knocking it off the corner of your desk. It's also super easy to clean; just dispose of the grounds in the filter and give it a rinse.

Not a fan of pourover coffee? A French press is another good choice as a desktop coffee maker. They're a bit more inconvenient to clean, but they're quick, easy and make delicious coffee. The stainless steel Espro press features an innnovative two-part filter that delivers a clean cup with complex, rich flavors - and, like the V60 Metal for pourover coffee, it's unbreakable.

Love to attract attention? The Aerobie coffee and espresso maker is eye-catching, gadget-y and cool -- and delivers excellent coffee. Everything you need to brew an excellent cup can fit right into the brewing tube, making it easy to transport - and cleaning is as easy as dumping the grounds and rinsing under running water.

Nothing beats the Bonavita variable temp electric kettle for providing perfect control over the water temperature for your brew. The gooseneck makes it an obvious choice for pourover brewing, and you can plug it in right in your cubicle. It even has an auto shutoff so you don't forget and let it run dry.